Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University was lead scientist on the Beagle 2 mission and died in 2014 without knowing its fate

Boffins behind the mission – including pioneering planetary scientist Colin Pillinger – feared it had been destroyed on landing or had plunged into a canyon where it there was no sunlight to charge its batteries.

However analysis of photos of the landing site show it touched down safely and successfully unfolded at least three of its four solar panels.

It is not known why the probe did not phone home to Earth but there may have been a fault with the transmitter.

The analysis also suggests the probe continued working for several months doing experiments on the surface, but was unable to transmit the data.

Prof Mark Sims of Leicester University, who worked on the 2003 mission, said there is even a chance Beagle 2 might still be beavering away on the Martian surface almost 13 years later.

He told the BBC: “It may have worked for hundreds of days depending on how much dust was deposited on the solar panels and whether any dust devils were cleaning the panels – as happened with Nasa’s Mars Exploration Rovers.

“One possibility is that it could still be working today – but it is extremely unlikely and I doubt that it is.”

The Beagle 2 landed safely and deployed at least three of its solar panels, but the fourth may have blocked the antenna

Dr Manish Patel of the Open University – one of hundreds of UK scientists who worked on the Beagle 2 mission – agrees the new evidence suggests that Beagle 2 took lots of scientific data but was unable to send it back.

He said: “If Beagle 2 went into surface operations mode, it could have continued for some time performing the initial pre-programmed operations, happily taking data and waiting for a response from the orbiters.

“It turned out to be a very lonely time for the lander at the surface.

“Previously, I assumed it was in pieces. But now I feel very proud to know that it’s there, intact, and was ready to do some great science.

“This kind of tantalising result on a long held mystery is the kind of thing that keeps us going, that really inspires me to persist in the challenge of exploring Mars.”